Police Parade Three Suspected Operators Behind Popular Blog, Gistlover
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center, acting on a petition at the instance of Hon and Doctor Mrs Seye Oladejo has arrested three suspects allegedly behind the popular microblogging platform, Gistlover.
The suspects were arrested in connection with a case of alleged conspiracy, cyberstalking, and threat to life.
ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force issued a statement wherein the suspects are named as well as their ages.
The suspects, namely Adebukola Kolapo, Nnedum Micheal Somtomchukwu, and Isaac Akpokighe, all males of ages 27, 25, and 30, respectively, are members of a syndicate called Gistlover Family, responsible for the daily running of the Gistlover blog.
The Police spokesperson noted that the blog is known for “cyberstalking, incitement, blackmail, and sundry, which has over the years been a cause for public outcry.”
The statement read; “Upon arrest, the suspects revealed their various degrees of involvement in the conspiracy, corroborating the already available overwhelming evidences.
“The first suspect Adebukola Kolapo a.k.a Omo oba Gistlover was responsible for the creation of over 80 percent of the Gistlover pages thereby lending his digital footprint for the perpetration of the aforementioned criminal act.
“Being on the payroll of the said platform and having enjoyed incentives like car gifts and monies, Adebukola was saddled with the responsibility of scouting, editing, and captioning contents including the cyberstalking post made against the complainant, Hon., and Dr. Mrs. Oluseyi Oladejo. Adebukola has also contributed to laundering monies gotten from the illegal scheme through various means.
“In more developments, digital Forensic analysis led to the recovery of eight (8) gist lover pages created on the instruction of the head of the syndicate by Adebukola, and wallet addresses used in laundering these monies.
“The Second suspect, One Nnedum Somtochukwu also shared in the conspiracy wherein at every point the page was taken down for certain infractions and violation of policies at the instance of reports from Law Enforcement Agencies, the suspect using his platform will by all means redirect traffic to the new page, helping the blog to evade sanctions.
“Enjoying incentives like referrals for promotions from the head of the syndicate, Nnedum has also been found sharing content, feedback, and making defamatory remarks with the said head of the syndicate.
“The Third suspect, Isaac Akpokighe a 30 years old male resident of Igando Lagos State unlike the duo above, is like hundreds of Nigerians who have observed the lucrative nature of the Blackmailing, cyberstalking, and false information market, decides to imitate the Gistlover blog.
“By so doing, he created several of such pages and mirrors the activities of the blog including reposting the defamatory and life-threatening post against the complainant and many other notable Nigerians. Digital forensics led to the recovery of four gistlover pages created by Isaac Apkokogho.”
ACP Adejobi said that the suspects will be charged in court upon the conclusion of the investigation.
‘’While strongly warning against all sorts of partnerships that promote the illegal activities of this blog and others engaging in similar activities, the Inspector General of Police IGP Olukayode Egbetokun Ph.D. NPM applauds the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center led by CP Uche Ifeanyi Henry as he reaffirms the commitment of the Force to ensuring the safety of citizens in the physical and digital space,” the statement added.
Follow us for more stories…
Author
